Heinz Strunk's New Novel "Memories of Heidelberg" Explores Marital Alienation

Heinz Strunk's latest novel, "Memories of Heidelberg," centers on an estranged married couple who descend into a spiral of misunderstandings, humiliations, and absurdities. The book is described as serving up stale marital bliss alongside a sugary nut mix, a characterization that points to Strunk's signature blend of the banal and the grotesque. The narrative follows the couple as they navigate increasingly fraught interactions, with the author steering them through what is termed a crawl through the capital of kitsch. The review, published by the Swiss newspaper Neue Zürcher Zeitung, frames the novel as a return of the figure Herr Lehmann, a recurring character in Strunk's work. The review's title, "Im Kriechgang durch die Kitschhauptstadt: Herr Lehmann ist wieder da," signals both the return of this character and the novel's engagement with kitschy milieus. The novel is published in German and reviewed in the feuilleton section of the NZZ. No further plot details, publication date, or publisher information are provided in the source material.